This is a list of Malaysian inventions details the indigenous arts and techniques, Malaysian inventions, Malaysian discoveries and contributions of the people of Malaysia — both ancient and modern state of Malaysia.[citation needed]
A traditional Malay house prior to the arrival of foreign or modern influences.[citation needed]
A traditional Bornean house prior to the arrival of foreign or modern influences.
A traditional colonial architecture of Malaysia, incorporating Malay, Chinese and European architectural styles.
A building used by Malay people for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures than a mosque but has similar functions.
A popular Malay game[citation needed]
A Malay traditional mancala that is often played as indoor activities. Congkak may have been spread from Malacca, as Malacca was once an important trading port of the Malay Archipelago.[1][2]
A popular Malay game since the time of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. The game was usually played at the end of the rice harvest.[3]
A competitive Malay game of gasing in which two or more players compete to strike each other's gasing out of a circle or to make it fall over and stop spinning.
A Malay abstract strategy board game.[citation needed]
An intricately designed kite that is traditionally flown in Kelantan, and one of the national symbols of Malaysia.[citation needed]
An alternative script for Iban language that was invented by Dunging Anak Gunggu in 1947.[4]
Classical Malay literature that tells the tale of the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah and his four warrior companions – Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu – who lived during the height of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century.[citation needed]
An alternative script for Malay language and several other languages of Malay world, such as Acehnese, Banjarese, Minangkabau and Tausūg. The oldest remains of Malay using the Jawi script have been found on the Terengganu Inscription Stone, dated 702 AH (1303 CE).[5]
Pantun is a form of traditional oral expression. The first examples to be recorded appear in Sejarah Melayu and Hikayat Hang Tuah.[citation needed]
Classical Malay literature that tells the romanticised history of the origin, growth and collapse of the Sultanate of Malacca.[citation needed]
Invented by the indigenous people of Dusun in Sabah, a type of jaw harp instruments.[citation needed]
Invented by the Malay people in Johor.[citation needed]
Invented by the indigenous people of Orang Ulu in Sarawak, a type of traditional string instrument.[6]
Invented by the indigenous people of Dusun in Sabah, a type of mouth organ instruments.[7]
Adat Temenggung and Adat perpatih, two variants of Malay customary practices and tradition observed in Malaysia.[citation needed]
A custom of giving out money to the guests during the festival of Hari Raya.[citation needed]
A Malaysian communal work.[citation needed]
A modern idea that emphasises the importance of progress with an Islamic perspective in terms of economic, social, and political fields, as well as diversity and tolerance.[citation needed]
A Malaysian declaration of national allegiance.[citation needed]
A Malay greeting and gesture as a way of demonstrating respect and reverence towards the royalties.[citation needed]
A system of geomancy that was practiced by the Malays. Dukun and bomoh who practice this knowledge would apply the principles of metaphysical and geomantic in the planning, development and construction of buildings.[citation needed]
Kaaamatan or Pesta kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated annually in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is normally celebrated by the ethnic Kadazan-Dusuns, as well as by other related ethnic groups in the state, and lasts for the whole of the month of May, ending with a public holiday on a date selected by a priestess known as the bobohizan.[citation needed]
Gawai Dayak is an annual festival celebrated by the Dayak people in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia on 1 and 2 June. It is a public holiday in Sarawak and is both a religious and a social occasion recognised since 1957.[8]
A type of sailing vessels of the Iban people of Sarawak.[citation needed]
A type of war boats used by the Iban people of Sarawak.[citation needed]
A type of traditional sailing vessels from Terengganu.[citation needed]
A type of small dugout canoe of the Sama-Bajau people of Sabah.[citation needed]
A type of small dugout canoe of the Sama-Bajau people of Sabah.[citation needed]
A type of ancient sailing vessels used by Malay sailors.[citation needed]
A type of galley-like ships in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A type of merchant and warship in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A narrow river or coastal fishing boat in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A traditional fishing boat from Kelantan.[citation needed]
A type of sailing vessels used in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A type of sailing vessel used in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A traditional boat used by Sama-Bajau people in Sabah.[citation needed]
A traditional boat in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A traditional merchant ship from Malay Peninsula.[citation needed]
A type of boats used to carry goods along rivers and coastline in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A traditional fishing boat from Terengganu.[citation needed]
A type of traditional sailing vessels from Terengganu.[citation needed]
A type of fast boats used by Orang Laut in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A type of boats used to carry goods along rivers and coastline in Malay Archipelago.[citation needed]
A Malaysian variant of the rugby union.[citation needed]
It was known as Sepak Raga and was mostly played by the royal court of Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. By 1940, the net version of the game was popularised by Malaysia and spread across Southeast Asia and formal rules and regulations were formed for the game.[citation needed]
A combative art of self-defence originated in the Malay Archipelago. Silat also has evolved into a practice of physical and spiritual training also encompassing traditional Malay attire, musical instruments and customs.[citation needed]
A racket sport similar to pickleball developed by Sukdev Singh from Kuala Lumpur in 2006.[9][10]
Invented by Hew Ah Kow, a detachable 4-piece plastic ware.[11][better source needed]
Invented by indigenous people in the state of Sabah, a homemade shotgun used for hunting wild animals and protect traditional farms of the local natives.[12]
Invented by Goo Yock Tee and Tang Peng Kee, a unique and globally-patented[13] one-touch mechanism flips open/close automatically in response to the gentle tug or push of the toothbrush.[11][failed verification]
Invented by Ooi Seng Chye, a water dispensing machine which processes raw sewage water into clean drinking water through reverse osmosis method.[11][failed verification]
Invented by Ren Ng, a camera technology to solves the problem of unfocused photos.[11][better source needed]
Nehemiah Lee hailed from Kluang, Johor. He completed his civil engineering degree in Malaysia before he went on to complete his master's degree in the United States. In 1977, Nehemiah went back to Malaysia to serve in the irrigation and drainage department. In 1993, he started a company that design, construct its own patented reinforced soil retaining wall system which he named as "Nehemiah walls". As of 2015, the company constructed 1.5 million square metres of walls in Malaysia, occupying 60% of the Malaysian market share with annual sales ranging from RM 30 million to RM 60 million from 2010 to 2015. His business also expanded to Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India.[14]
Cheong Choon Ng was born in Taiping, Perak.[15] He emigrated to United States and graduated as a mechanical engineer. He also obtained a US citizenship. During his stay at the United States, he invented and commercialised a plastic device for turning small rubber bands into jewelry and other products.[16]
Robest Yong was born and raised in Georgetown, Penang.[17] He went on to become a technician with a Japanese company from 1976 to 1989 before he resigned and venture into business.[18] In 1991, he patented a machine to make rubber stamp faster which only takes five minutes when compared to the plaster molds method which can take weeks to make a rubber stamp.[17] He brought the invention to Geneva International Invention Exhibition, Switzerland and won a gold medal.[19] He received 100 orders immediately after the exhibition. The machine cost around RM 3,800 and was marketed in Russia, Japan, the United States, and Africa.[18]
Pua Khein-Seng was born and raised in Sekinchan, Selangor. He graduated from a Taiwanese university as an electrical engineer and co-founded a Taiwanese company named Phison with four other colleagues in 2000. The company later developed a USB flash controller in 2001.[20][21][22] In 2012, the company also opened an electronics research and development (R&D) centre in Penang.[23] For his contribution to the electronics industry in the state of Penang, Pua was awarded the title Datuk by the governor of Penang in the same year.[22] However, the centre stopped all R&D activities by 2016. In 2019, Pua decided to close the research centre.[23] Pua attributed the failure to lack of talents in Malaysia and lack of enthusiasm by local engineers.[23]
Apart from Pua Khein-Seng, other companies such as M-Systems from Israel,[24] Shimon Shmueli, an employee from IBM,[25] Trek 2000 International from Singapore,[26] and Netac Technology from China also staked the claim as the inventor of flash drive.[27]